Machines which dispense a precise amount of ice into a pitcher of a blender for subsequent mixing with other ingredients such as alcohol, juices, water and the like, have become quite popular, particularly in bars and restaurants. Such machines are particularly useful in making “frozen” or slush-like drinks.
One of the very successful machines of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,013. In that device, the user mixes a drink by placing an arbitrary amount of liquid or liquids in the pitcher of a blender and then operates the machine to dispense ice into the pitcher until a predetermined weight of ice is received by the pitcher. The blender is then operated to mix the drink. One of the advantages of this system is that every drink will be consistently mixed with the precise required amount of ice.
However, one problem with this type of system is that the user must be able to add the correct amount of liquids to the pitcher of the blender. Oftentimes, particularly in the environment of a crowded bar or restaurant, the user hurriedly estimates the correct amount of liquids to the detriment of consistent drinks. Since one of the more often needed liquids is water, it would be desirable to provide a machine which would dispense the correct amount of water to the pitcher. However, to date, no known machine is provided with that feature.